


Please Insert Coin

by lib



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/M, idek, just a bunch of college kids, my guilty pleasure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 02:01:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18459155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lib/pseuds/lib
Summary: just some fluff for an underrated ship that stands as my guilty pleasurevery rough writing and ideas because I write on the flystill a huge saimatsu stan, I just needed to get this out of my system





	Please Insert Coin

**Author's Note:**

> originally titled "idek"
> 
> will this be a oneshot or a chapter fic? idek

“Akamatsu, I’m going to say this one more time: Stop leaving your clothes all over the floor.”

Raptured fingers paused, now slowly hovering over a random tab of letters. Kaede’s lavender hues rose up, body shifting amidst her bed comforter. She delicately - with a gentle pianist’s touch - lifted her laptop from her thighs and placed it next to her. With a fluttered sigh, she kicked herself from her bedside and landed next to her agitated roommate.

Kaede Akamatsu was kind, social, outgoing, pretty - someone everyone enjoyed. Sure, she had her issues (like her disorganized side of the dorm or using the floor as her personal closet), but her hyperdriven brain tended to forget about those things to the chagrin of her roommate. 

“Sorry, Harukawa-san. I guess I got distracted!” The blonde let out a nervous giggle as she unceremoniously reached down to pick up a pair of fuzzy baby pink socks. Her gaze flickered upwards at her roommate’s clicking tongue.

“Distracted every day? You’d think you’d be a bit more responsible now that you’re an adult.” Harukawa sighed, arms crossing fervently across her chest.

Kaede rolled her eyes, reaching her thumb and index finger into her sock, hugging the elastic before flicking a sock in Harukawa’s direction. It wasn’t a very valiant or even effective attempt, as the red-eyed girl simply watched the sock skid across the floor with barely any airtime. “You’re talking to me like I’m some little kid!”

“I’ve got tons of experience, or don’t you remember?”

Harukawa and Akamatsu had been friends since highschool, with the latter trying her darndest to break the former’s hard exterior. She had to admit, though, it was a team effort that gave way to success. 

While she didn’t look it - and certainly didn’t act it - Harukawa worked with children frequently. Her first and only job was at a daycare in her neighborhood. Apparently she received stunning reviews from her coworkers. So much so that their praise led Harukawa on a path to an education degree.

Akamatsu envied her friend at times. Harukawa seemed to have everything figured out and laid out for her in a neat little path. Sure, the dark-haired girl worked hard and earned everything she received, but that just made Kaede all the more jealous. The only thing Harukawa lacked was - for better or worse - social skills. It was odd how different the two were, and also how they were able to connect. An unlikely duo, they were. Similar to Momota and Saihara.

As Kaede reluctantly picked up the rest of her disorganized laundry - groaning and making a show at every piece of clothing - Harukawa flipped out her phone, red eyes squinting as she took in the screen. 

Once she finished reading, Harukawa held up her phone and faced the screen outwards to show her roommate, “Kaito invited us to go out with them tonight.”

Them? Most likely meaning him and Saihara, as the two were often inseparable - and not just because they were roommates.

“Where does he plan on going?”

“He mentioned wanting to go to that dingy arcade in town. Something about the theme being ultraviolet lights and space features.”

Kaede chuckled breezily, “That sounds like our Momota-kun!” Harukawa nodded. While she wouldn’t admit it, Momota’s eccentries were something she found endearing. “We could go bowling there?”

“Depends on how many people are coming with.”

While the usual outing consisted of her, Harukawa, Momota, and Saihara, they occasionally had a few others join them at times. Sometimes they’d have a full pack of college kids roaming the town. Other times, it was the casual group of four. 

“We’ll meet up with them outside by the fountain in a few hours,” Harukawa directed before her eyes squinted yet again. Her thin lips pursed, as if she were attempting to hold back the smallest of smiles. Kaede was well aware of how Momota texted, so she was sure he was simply giving Harukawa a hard time. It was nice to see the two of them interact, as they both had a consistent yet endearing banter.

Lavender hues directed themselves to Kaede’s open closet. Now was the time for her to figure out what to wear.

 

Something Kaede did pride herself on, though, was being on time. It helped when she had Harukawa as a constant reminder, but Kaede tended to be good with time. So good, in fact, that the two of them were the ones waiting first.

Resting a smooth palm against the stone fountain structure, Kaede leaned backwards ever so slightly. Harukawa stood next to her, arms idiosyncratically crossed over her chest. The silence was soon interrupted by the clanging of doors. Kaede turned to watch two boys leave the dorm house and make their way over to them.

Harukawa simply watched, eyes narrowing. Kaede, on the other hand, took the social initiative, “Kiibo-kun! Are you going out too?”

The boy in question, a tall, white-haired student with pale skin and an average frame, gave Akamatsu a warm smile. “Momota-kun invited us out with him and Saihara-kun tonight.”

Kaede returned the smile, a hand reaching out to vice grip itself around Harukawa’s arm, pulling her close. If it was anyone other than Kaede, Harukawa would have probably broken their wrist. For someone so specialized around children, the caretaker was also able to break bones as if they were the crayons her charges used. 

“Well we’re happy to have you!”

“Akamatsu-chaaaaaan~”

The blonde winced at the drawled whine, almost forgetting Kiibo came with company. Gaze slowly drifted to Kiibo’s side as she watched a slightly smaller (in Kaede’s case) statured boy work his way into vision. His arms clung to the back of his messy purple head, similar lilac eyes training upwards to meet the blonde’s own lavenders.

“Aren’t you forgetting about someone?”

Before she could speak out a halfhearted greeting, Harukawa cut in, “I find it hard to believe Kaito invited you.”

“Well,” purple eyes darted over to the twin-tailed girl, “Momota-chan and I are super close! You just fail to notice those kinds of things, Harukawa-chan!” His voice was giddy, sugary sweet like the overwhelming smell of a candy shop. Ouma was just like that, a glucose-induced tone with a silver tongue. 

As the group remained silent, Ouma giggled gleefully, “I threw you a bone, the rest of my lies won’t be so easy!”

“Did Saihara-kun insist on inviting you?” Kaede interjected. Her capped friend was a somewhat sympathetic case, usually voicing his concerns about the troublemakers they all knew: Ouma being no exception.

Ouma merely tutted his tongue, arms wrapping themselves around Kiibo’s as if begging to be protected, “That’s not how it works, Akamatsu-chan! Keeboy and I are a package deal!”

In response to this, Kiibo simply rolled his eyes into a dejected cry for help. Kaede couldn’t understand why Kiibo let Ouma be his roommate, but she figured albeit eccentric beyond belief, the former held a soft spot. In a way, Kaede did as well. Ouma was obnoxious, sure. Annoying? You bet. But he was intelligent and sociable and admittedly kept things lively. 

“Oi, Harumaki!”

The four turned around to catch a tall, spikey haired man and a shorter black clad companion making their way towards them. Kaito Momota, the former, quickly leeched to Harukawa’s side, one hand leaning back against the fountain and the other snaking its way to the girl’s waist. He planted a quick peck against her temple.

“Sorry for the wait, you guys,” he apologized before anyone could point tardiness blame. Harukawa quirked a brow, the ends of her lips twitching ever so slightly as she relaxed into Momota’s arms.

“I’ve never done something where the quote unquote leader is late. Huh,” Ouma pondered aloud, causing Momota to narrow his gaze at the smaller boy.

“And you’re here… why?”

Ouma simply dismissed the question as if the answer were obvious, “I guess you owe us for being so tardy, Momota-chan. Saihara-chan too, of course!”

Saihara’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly, clearly embarrassed for being late as if it were his own fault - which in all realness was most likely not.

Clearing his throat, Momota straightened his posture as if taking what Ouma said about the leader role to heart, “So Amami and Tsumugi are meeting us there. Iruma-san has a shift their tonight as maintenance so we’ll find her and get a pretty discount!”

The group began its trek towards the bustling, lively college town that rested so near their dorms. Kaede caught Ouma mumbling about how Iruma was finally useful while Harukawa stuck close to Momota. Kiibo and Momota had started up a conversation, taking the lead in their little entourage. This left Saihara and Kaede falling into step with each other in the back.

“I wonder how long it’ll take before we have to seperate Momota-kun and Ouma-kun. Maybe we should make bets?”

Saihara chuckled softly next to her, reaching a hand back to rub his neck, “You mean before I have to seperate them?”

“Somehow you were designated that job. Maybe because you’re kind of like Momota-kun’s conscience?”

“Are you saying Momota-chan is the ego? Well I guess that’d make sense with how incomprehensibly massive his is, nishishishi~” Ouma side eyed the two from in front, ever so slightly turning his head back to gave them both a devilish grin, “Although Saihara-chan and superego don't really mesh.”

Luckily if Momota elected to hear the snide comment, he chose to ignore it. That or he was too busy showing Kiibo where the Big Dipper sat. Kaede could only assume the later, as she knew Momota well enough. 

They all had actually known each other since highschool, hence why they all continued to stay in touch in college. A lot of students from their highschool transferred out to similar colleges, which in a way was nice. Kaede appreciated the familiarity accompanied by a new wave of independence and responsibility.

Saihara sighed, rolling his pale eyes, “Ouma-kun, one day your mouth will get you sent to the hospital on life support.” Ouma merely chuckled.

“Perish the thought, Saihara-chan!” His smile widened, mirroring that of a cheshire cat, “Besides, me being in a body bag would mean you’ll be finding my attacker, my killer! I put my cold dead body in your capable hands. Akamatsu-chan, what would you suggest we play at my funeral? I was thinking…”

“Leave it to Ouma-kun to dampen the mood with the doom and gloom,” Kaede deadpanned, pursing her lips as the boy shrugged and turned back around. She watched as his hand crept up to Momota’s back, gently pressing his thumb against the fabric of the taller boy's ethereal galaxy jacket. When the thumb was pulled away, Kaede caught sight of the bright yellow smiley face sticker. As a few moments passed, Ouma had successfully stuck a full sheet of colorful smiley face stickers along the back of Momota’s jacket without drawing any attention.

Kaede had to admit that was impressive. The hijinks Ouma got himself into and out of was a talent in in of itself.

 

Momota stopped in front of two large doors. While they looked rustic and old, flashing strobe lights could clearly be seen through the faded windows. With as much grandeur as he could muster, Momota threw open the doors and waltzed in (while making sure to hold them open for Harukawa of course). The rest filed in behind. 

The building had a low ceiling, but erupted with sounds and jingles of arcade games. Ouma pushed past the rest, eyes beaming like a child, “I’m walking out here with the best prize, you can bet on it!”

“Psh, for all the running your mouth does, I bet you just talk a big game.” Momota snarked back, easily baited by whatever Ouma seemed to say. Ouma turned to face the taller student quizzically, brow raised ever so slightly as if ruminating Momota’s challenge.

“Nishishi, Momota-chan, are you suggesting we,” Ouma feigned a gasp, recoiling a hand to his chest, “gamble?!” 

Kiibo raised a finger pointedly, “Is it technically gambling if it’s only some kid games?”

“What? Ya sayin’ you’re too old for this stuff, Kiibs?”

The group turned to face a busty strawberry blonde in a simple polo work uniform and jeans. Her buttons were undone, showing what could be argued as “inappropriate workplace attire level” skin. But that was just Iruma. Her talent would always outshine her brutish quirks.

Kiibo lifted his hands up and waved defensively, “No, no! Nothing like that!” His cheeks warmed, noticeable against his pale skin. Losing his train of thought, Kiibo simply took a step back in defeat. Fortunately for him, Iruma had a soft spot for the pale boy.

“Yo, Iruma!” Momota greeted. He wasn’t that close with the girl like Kaede and Kiibo, but he remained positive if only for the discounted bowling and gaming, “Busy night?”

The girl sighed and began walking deeper within the building, beckoning the group to follow, “Kinda. We’re expecting a packed house later, mostly drunk, vomiting fucks and guys trying to stick their uninhibited girls. You’d be surprised how much of a whorehouse this place turns into.”

Saihara, slightly blushing at Iruma’s brash comments, walked close behind her, “I doubt it helps much that this place is so inconveniently around multiple bars.”

“You can say that again, Shyhara. Then again, it is a college town. But it makes for pretty funny fuckin’ stories, I’ll tell ya that much!” Kaede hoped she didn’t go further in detail.

Iruma led the group through a doorway and into the bowling area. Kaede was greeted with the clamoring sound of pins being struck, causing her to wince ever so slightly. Her sensitive ears weren’t going to enjoy adapting.

There were some vacant lanes, but most were packed with groups of students or couples on dates. The lack of drama or… “sticking it” as Iruma put it, proved she knew her hours well.

Momota marched up to the booth while the rest stayed a ways behind and watched. Iruma made her way around the counter to stand next to a red-haired man. He was curious looking, and when he opened his mouth to speak Kaede caught sight of a gleam of sorts.

“Yo, Kuwata, these guys are with me,” Iruma drawled, watching the older male play around with the register. He looked over Momota’s shoulder at the rest of the group. For a brief second, Kaede made eye contact with the man’s fierce icy blues as he glazed over them boredly.

With a grunt, he ignored the register altogether and beckoned the rest to join at the counter. “Ya know your sizes?” With that, everyone was given their shoes and made their way to their designated lane. Iruma had to go back to work, but was given many thanks for her contribution to their free night of games. The pep in her step proved she was swelling with pride from the gratitude.

Kaede sat herself down next to Saihara, the two watching Momota puff out his chest and grab a heavy ball. Resting her chin in her hand, Kaede giggled to herself, “This is nice. It’s been awhile since we all did something together.”

Saihara nodded slowly, gaze narrowed on Momota. The detective-in-training abruptly stood up, arm outstretched, “Hold on, Kaito!”

The man in question turned his head as he took a step, stumbling and almost faceplanting against the polished floor. He glared violently down at his shoes, which had somehow become tied together. The situation was too obvious that an investigation wasn’t needed. Despite this, Ouma kept a straight face the whole time until something in him broke.

“Nishishishishi~” He burst out laughing, Kaede watching him lean back with his hands at his stomach, “Momota-chan, you gotta be more careful next time!”

“Why you-” Kaito was interrupted as Harukawa made her presence known. A tight fist latched itself into Ouma’s collar, with the former giving off an overconfident jeer.

“Looks like we missed the fun.”

Everyone save for Harukawa and Ouma turned to greet the arriving Amami. The blue-haired Tsumugi stood at his side with a small wave. Kaede blinked, eventually releasing air she had no idea she took in. Amami was always good with diffusing a situation, and he did so easily as he broke the frustrated Harukawa and the giggling Ouma apart.

Their rounds of bowling were exhilarating, not because of any type of score competition, more so the continuous interactions between Momota, Ouma, and whoever stepped up to keep the middle. Kaede sat next to Saihara, the two laughing and enjoying the others company as they sipped at their soft drinks.

They grew up together, having met freshman year. Saihara was well aware of her love of music and Kaede supported his goals of becoming a detective like his uncle. She always told him the criminal justice system needed someone like him. In the grand scheme of things, he was her best friend and the feeling was mutual. Like her and Harukawa, Kaede and Saihara were an odd chemistry as well. Yet they complimented each other where the other was weak and in the end it worked out swimmingly.

As their second round ended, Kaede turned her head back towards the entrance to the alley. Her memory jumped back to Iruma leading them through the games. There was one specifically that caught her attention. She stood up, pressing her hands to her pleated skirt to even it out. 

“There’s something I wanna go check out, so I’ll meet you all in a bit!”

Amami blinked, index finger jutting towards the scoreboard on the monitor, “But we still have a few more sets left.”

The blonde waved her hand dismissively as she shimmied her way through the legs of her friends and out of the lane, “Roll for me! It’s not like I’m winning anyway.”

Momota cracked a smile, “I mean you’re not wrong. Maybe you should stick to the arts, huh?” He flinched as Harukawa landed a flat palm to his bare, jacketless arm. Kaede laughed in the presence of her roommate and her boyfriend before taking her leave. She discarded her shoes at the counter, feeling the colorfully patterned carpet beneath her casual shoes.

Once she was set, Kaede power walked towards the spazztic lights of the games. Her eyes continued to dart about, captivated by one game after another. She finally stopped in front of a large machine sprinkled with colorfully flashing lights. The counter in front of her was smoothly polished and long. Gliding her hand across the surface, Kaede mentally spoke out each of the 52 white keys before her. It was no coincidence the only piano-based game in the arcade had immediately struck her fancy.

“Why am I not surprised Bakamatsu found that one so quick?” Kaede turned to face Iruma, who’s closed fist made its way forward. Iruma clasped Kaede’s wrist with her free hand and poured a few tokens into her grip. “On the house for the horny piano lover~”

Kaede did her best to appreciate the action Iruma displayed rather than the comments accompanied. She had gotten well used to Iruma’s foul mouth and tendencies through the latter years of highschool, but even then those comments sometimes got the best of the pianist. 

After the strawberry blonde departed back to work, Kaede returned her attention to the game. From what she could tell, the monitor above the piano keys would show which keys to hit and for how long, similar to the online Synthesia program. The songs ranged in complexity and therefore how many tickets could be won. Fiddling with the only buttons available, Kaede flipped through song after song. She wasn’t expecting any of her favorites, as what arcade game would have classical music available? 

So imagine her surprise when she found Franz Liszt's “La Campanella” among some of the more challenging choices.

Cracking her knuckles, Kaede found her peace amidst the racket of games. When she played, the world tended to dissolve into an abstract nothing. This was no different despite the difference in piano and setting. La Campanella was a deliberately virtuosic, show-off piece, something difficult that Kaede had overcome early on in life. While she hadn’t played the piece, let alone any of Liszt’s work in some time, Kaede was able to fluidly move her fingers about as if she had the song and key coordinates ingrained in her DNA.

Some people said she made it look too easy, and watching her do so even using a shoddy arcade game’s keyboard proved dividends to that sentiment.

The world had quieted down, at least it seemed, for Kaede’s performance. The bright keys clinked together into a wonderful melody, Kaede hitting her stride as the pace between black and white keys harshly increased until it sounded as though her aggression had peaked. Nearing the middle of the piece, Kaede’s wrists loosened, hands running a race from one side of the keyboard to the next. Unlike Liszt, Kaede wasn’t one to purposefully show off. She’d play what she felt in her heart, and right now, with all the buzzing and whirring of machines, La Campanella was her heart’s choice.

The piece had no real finish, just a seemingly sporadic twiddle of the fingers all the way through. Yet with Kaede’s final tap of the key, she seemed to come back to reality, wincing at the now noticeable arcade noises. Exhaling a sigh, lavender hues scrolled upwards to survey the screen.

A low whistle and an inconsistent clap caused those lavenders to 180. “Wooooooow, you’re a pro, Akamatsu-chan!”

Ouma stood before her, hands returning to his sweater pockets. When Kaede remained silent, Ouma’s head tilted ever so slightly, lips pursing in confusion.

“What’s the matter?” he prodded before a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head, “Ohhhhhh, I get it! Sorry, Akamatsu-chan. I’m sure you were expecting your beloved Saihara-chan.”

This rild the blonde out of her stupor, “A-ah! I wasn’t… it’s not like that!”

“Hmmmmm?~”

“I guess I’m just surprised it’s you of all people. Figured you’d want to mess with Momota-kun some more.”

Ouma yawned, a hand reaching up to rub his eye, “Poor Momota-chan deserves a break, nishishishi~”  
Kaede was close to calling him out, knowing full well he’d strike again before the night was over.

“But really, Akamatsu-chan! Now I can see why people sing your praises when it comes to the piano!” Was he lying? “Franz Liszt is no joke.”

Kaede was baffled, attempting to find her words amidst a flurry of others, “You… you know Franz Liszt?”

“Duh, I’m no idiot Akamatsu-chan! Who says someone like me can’t enjoy a little classical music now and then?”

“I guess that’s true…”

Ouma slid past Kaede, settling next to her. He lowered himself just a tad, hands reaching for a slew of orange paper. “Talk about a lot of tickets! My beloved Akamatsu-chan is going to get me that giant Gudetama plushie!” Before she could object, Ouma pocketed the tickets she had earned from her performance. It wasn’t like she did it specifically for the tickets, but Ouma reaping her rewards wasn’t something she was very condoning of.

“So why did you stop bowling, Ouma-kun?” Kaede wondered aloud. The boy in question gazed up at her as he organized his tickets, purple eyes widening excitedly.

“Is it really that suspicious you feel the need to interrogate me? If I wanted that I’d simply stay with Saihara-chan!” Ouma snickered his signature laugh before hoisting himself up. “Let’s just say I was curious as to why you left. Figured it had to be something important if you were willing to leave all your precious friends like that!”

Kaede broke away from her grip on the keyboard, gaze looking around at the rest of the games. “I felt I had to at least play this once.”

“Oooooh, the game called you, spoke to you. How ominous! We better tell Iruma-chan her machines are haunted. Maybe we can get Yumeno-chan to do some sort of exorcism?”

“She’s a magician, Ouma-kun, not some kind of priest.”

“Mage, Akamatsu-chan. Be careful or I may just have to tell on you for that slander, nishishishi~”

The blonde rolled her eyes, fingers absentmindedly rising to fiddle with the music note pins in her bangs. She was quickly distracted by Ouma holding up two metallic coins. What the-. Kaede fumbled a hand into her pant pocket, realizing with a stained flush that her remaining tokens had been swiped. “O-Ouma-kun! When did you… I… Those were my back pockets!”

Typical Ouma dismissed Kaede’s tongue-tied words. “How’s about we go play something else? I really wanna try those racing games! I think I could go pro eventually!”

 

 

Kaede pressed her back into the firm seat, foot reaching out for the stray pedals. Ouma sat one seat over, beating his palms against the steering wheel an attempt to create percussion of some kind. Kaede had reluctantly followed him around until he found the car game he had desired. She hadn’t played one of these in a long time, let alone driven a car in a long time. Commuting by anything but was her usual go-to. She could guess the same about Ouma as he jerked the wheel back and forth like a child.

Once they picked their cars (Kaede unsurprised by the fluorescent purple one of Ouma’s choosing), the two slammed their feet against the gas pedal. As they drove, Kaede remained in a steady lead to her own surprise. Sure, this wasn’t a hard game, but it wasn’t any type of keyboard or piano. Her brows furrowed, clearly concentrating on the timing of her turns and the occasional NPC boxing her in.

“Say, Akamatsu-chan. Do you like Saihara-chan? Be honest with me.”

Kaede lost control of her wheel, watching heartbrokenly as her own bright pink sports car spun out and had to be readjusted automatically. Cars zoomed past her, but her standing in the race was least of her concerns.

“Ouma-kun!” Kaede whined, turning to glare to her side uncaring of finishing the game. “What are you talking about?! He’s my best friend, that’s it!”

“Hmmm…” Ouma murmured aloud, still hyper focused on driving. If she hadn’t known better, Kaede would’ve assumed Ouma hadn’t even processed her flustered explanation. But that wasn’t how he operated in the slightest. Ouma could pick up even the slightest hesitation out of anyone all the while maintaining the lead in a racing game.

Kaede sat quietly, watching Ouma finish the race accompanied by a large colorful 1st on his screen. He thrust his arms into the air, embracing the air of a winner, before turning his attention cheekily towards the blonde.

“Akamatsu-chan, are you not going to at least finish?”

Kaede blinked, turning back to her screen and realizing she could still drive. Yet her foot wasn’t able to willingly slam against the gas as it was before.

“Jeez, I had no idea just mentioning your and Saihara-chan’s relationship would screw you up this much!” Ouma cheered, hand finding its way under his chin in thought, “I wonder if I’d get the same reaction when Akamatsu-chan is playing piano…”

“You’re wrong! Jeez Ouma-kun, don’t assume things so willy-nilly!”

“So do you like Amami-chan instead?”

“I… what?!”

“Maybe Momota-chan? Now that’d be a fun little soap to sit down and watch. Akamatsu-chan secretly rendezvous with her friend and roommate’s lover.”

Kaede pressed a hand to her ever warming cheeks, clearly unable to resist giving Ouma the reaction he wanted. In an attempt to do even slightly as much damage, Kaede turned on the purple-eyed boy, “W-what about you? The amount of clinging you do with Kiibo-kun… I know you’ve got an interest in Saihara-kun too! A-and I see the way you look at Amami-kun!”

Ouma blinked, visibly stunned at her accusations. Yet this possibly faux surprise gave way to a round of chuckling. “Akamatsu-chan! You should know better than to try and fib around me of all people! Or at least to throw around poorly thought up ideas!”

Despite this, Ouma’s gaze shifted further to the side as if delving into his thoughts, “But I guess you aren’t totally wrong…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not telling~!”

Ouma reached down to collect his scant amount of orange tickets, prompting Kaede to slowly do the same. He then hopped out of the game seat, stretching his arms. Upon leaving her own seat, Kaede, too, realized how much her body had tightened in the past several minutes.

“What about me, Akamatsu-chan?”

Kaede’s eyes widened, barely registering the question through the ringing in her ears. “What?”

“Do you like me?”

“Wha-what?” Kaede stammered, suddenly very uncomfortable under the watchful gaze of Ouma. In a way, she could relate to Saihara, internally reaching for the brim of a cap that wasn’t there. In a valiant attempt to compose herself and gain control of the situation (which was hard in any situation involving Ouma), Kaede kept her voice even, “I don’t think you’re my type, Ouma-kun.” She said this in a half joking, half serious tone, as she herself was unsure of what her type actually was.

The expression Ouma gave off was somewhat unreadable, at least to Kaede. His lips were a firm line, brows furrowed ever so slightly, as if he were truly processing what Kaede had said and letting it marinate. The longer the silence lasted, the guiltier Kaede felt. Was she too blunt? Sure, it was Ouma; bluntness was the only decently effective weapon against him. 

“If you don’t even know your type, can you really say that?”

Somehow he had broken through her own uncertainty. Was it her tone? Her behavior? How was he so sure?

“You know, Akamatsu-chan, we should go do something tomorrow!”

“Excuse me?” Kaede felt her legs twitch, begging her to reel back and out of this situation. “As in all of us?”

“Pshhhh, no, silly! Maybe Iruma-chan was right on the money with your nickname…” Ouma trailed off softly before pulling himself back together, “You and I can go do something! Don’t you wanna get to know me better, Akamatsu-chan? Maybe I just might be your ‘type’.”

His cheerful smile and rosy cheeks gave Kaede the impression that he had just asked for some candy on Halloween. Instead, had he just suggested that they do something… just the two of them? Kaede had hung out with almost all of her friends one-on-one before, sans Ouma. There were many reasons for that. She wasn’t aware he considered them to be so close. He always seemed to cling to Kiibo or Saihara or someone other than herself. She had never once considered anything more of Ouma than a troublemaker in the group.

“Are you joking?” Kaede couldn’t help to ask, but who could blame her when she was dealing with a pathological liar. Ouma lifted an index finger to his lips, smiling giddily.

“Nishishi~, who knows?” Before Kaede could press further, the sound of Momota’s hollering was brought to her attention. The taller male led Harukawa and Amami towards her and Ouma.

“Oi, there you guys are! Was Ouma bothering you, Akamatsu?”

Kaede held her hands up, shaking them dismissively. Before she could deny the accusation and maintain the peace, Ouma piped up.

“Momota-chan, don’t you have some tickets to win?” The shorter boy reached into his checkered jacket and held out a few stacks of orange, “You’d better hit the gas before I wipe the floor with you, nishishishi~”

This was enough to rile Momota up, causing him to challenge Ouma to as many games as they could play that allowed multiplayer. As the two made their way deeper into the arcade, Ouma turned around towards Kaede one final time.

“You asked if I was lying? Try the cafe across the dorms… 11ish?”

Kaede watched the two bickering boys detach from the group, leaving Amami and Harukawa with her. The former jangled his leftover tokens in his palm absentmindedly, “Might as well go play something, right?”

Kaede nodded slowly, following Amami. Harukawa joined her roommate, falling into a similar step. Those red eyes failed to leave Kaede’s face, as if Harukawa could sense something was eating at her.

“I’m fine, Harukawa-san! Don’t you worry about me!”

Harukawa quirked a brow, remaining stubbornly quiet.

“I know! How about you and Amami-kun watch me play that piano game over there!” Her tone falsetto’d into an excited squeal of sorts, “Ohhhh I can teach you both how to play!”

The look of anguish that perturbed Harukawa’s face was enough of an answer, but Kaede was also hard headed when it came to decisions. After talking to Ouma, she needed something to keep her energy up and mind off of things.

Off of tomorrow, because supposedly she had just been asked out in a totally Ouma kind of way.

Kaede reached for Harukawa’s arm, then snatched Amami’s sleeve, pulling them back the way she had originally came. “Just one time, I promise! Then we can go meet with the others.”

Amami gave Harukawa a sheepish look, knowing full well neither of them really had the heart to stuff Kaede’s passion.


End file.
